Syllabus for COMS 300 SPRING 2010
About this course 
This course surveys the history of the mass media -- the people, the institutions and the ideas that animated our past and influence our future. Major themes in media history include changing technologies, changing social roles and the changing structure and business of the mass media.
One goal of the class will be for you to learn a little about historical research in media. You'll read original articles, speeches and texts by famous authors. You'll compare articles written for audiences in the past. And you'll search for information about some of the most fascinating people in the world.
Another goal is to learn about history itself. History is civilization's memory, and as Santayana famously said, those who can't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. History is an aid to the interpretation of the future and the dressing room of politics. Some historians have hoped simply to show how things really were, but today, historians understand that our views of the past are socially constructed. "We look at the present through a rear-view mirror," as Marshall McLuhan said. "We march backwards into the future."
Announcements:
Communications students are asked to take the following brief survey: http://radford.qualtrics.com//SE?SID=SV_ex1DjMtInXp3R4g&SVID=Prod
Groups
Join one of four communications and technology groups -- Print, Image (advertising and public relations), Electronic (broadcasting), and Digital. Over the semester, your group will:
- Create a timeline of important events
- Report on top ten movies about people or events in your area (fiction and non-fiction)
- Report on top ten biographical books
- Report on two journals from your area -- report on recent papers.
- Find and report on two professional magazines from your area and recent articles
- Find and describe the top dozen web sites in your area
Textbooks
- Rather than reading a textbook, we will be working on writing one.
Class times, codes and locations
Instructor and Office Hours
Prof. BIll Kovarik, Ph.D. email wkovarik@radford.edu ph: 831-6033
Grades will be based on:
- Your Research 40%
- Quizzes (Group and individual ) 20%
- Mid Term and Final exams 30%
- Other projects 10%
- Extra credit up to 20%
Policies
- Attendance policy: Absense of more than 10 percent of the class will result in corresponding percent decreases in the grade. Missing more than 40 percent of the class would mean a D for an otherwise A student and so on.
- Late policy: Late completion of projects will result in reduction of grade by one letter grade per week.
- Disabilities policy: We are glad to work with all students to accomodate disabilities on a non-discriminatory basis. Students with special needs may be required to clear accomodations through the disabilities resource office of the university.
- Honor Code: By accepting admission to Radford University, each students makes a commitment to understand, support and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception.
- Plagiarism -- Students who directly copy work from anyone else will flunk the class and be reported to the Dean of Students office.